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esme_bonner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Thank you to Ashley Poston, HQ, and NetGalley for a galley of this in return for an honest review.
I am a huge Ashley Poston fan, I thought that after I devoured The Dead Romantics in 2 days last year. I know for absolute certain having now devoured A Novel Love Story in 2 days this year. This book was absolutely everything I wanted it to be. It was sweet, a little sexy, engrossing, corny (just the right amount) and heart wrenching.
Poston has a talent for writing heart broken, and heart breaking characters. I adored Eileen, I fell in love with Anders right along side her, I laughed when she laughed, I didn’t cry – but it was a close run thing. These are characters that are larger than life, buoyant and comical, banter-filled and smart-arsed, but also deeply human. You understand Eileen’s heartbreak, her lack of self-belief, her willingness to remain in stasis, and her contradictory longing to be part of the world again. Anyone who has ever read an excellent book and wanted to be a part of it, to live in that place, to sit down with those characters, will also understand her joy at getting the chance to do just that.
As someone with an English MA I also loved her representation of an English-y person. The ideas she touched on, the brief shout-out of ‘Death of the author’ theory – one of my personal faves. I loved that Eileen drew things back through that lens, that she occasionally quoted Shakespeare, that her love of English was part of her, even after she admitted it wasn’t the career she wanted. I loved that she and Anders has books in common. This was a book for and about book lovers, I think it is also a book for those that loved Book Lovers, by Emily Henry, which I also read this week! If you’re hoping to cure your Book Lovers hangover, this is the book to do it with.
This loses a star for me for a few reasons. I didn’t feel that the jokes always landed, character details not adding up quite right (e.g., someone being both white blond and golden blond, eyes that are mint coloured and emerald coloured), and a bit of repetitive dithering on Eileen’s part. None of these things were overwhelming to the plot, none of the really impacted clarity or sense, and none of them took away from my overall impression of the book. But they did impact my enjoyment a little, taking me out of the book for a moment, or give me pause.
Overall, this was an excellent book. It was fun and funny, it was bright and adorable and consuming. Ashley Poston has a fan in me.
jazzy_t's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
sarinaslibrary's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is my first book of Ashley Poston and I'm quite sad I haven't read her before (The Seven Year Slip is on my TBR!) because I immensely enjoyed this!
I got a proof of this book not knowing what it was about, but it had tropes that I liked in it so I figured, why not read it? And when I found out it was about the main character going to a town that doesn't exist, except from her favourite book series, I was hooked.
'After having her heartbroken before her wedding, Eileen Merriweather decides to do a little book retreat in a cabin where her book club normally meets, but this time it's only her, and she's looking forward to some time alone with books and a glass of wine - until her car breaks down. Luckily she's in a town full of helpful and colourful people, but they're so familiar to Eileen, as if she has seen them before - in her favourite book series!
It's a readers dream to be in a town you've read in a series you love, but there's a character that wasn't in the books that lives there, the grumpy bookshop owner Anders - and he want's her out.
But Eileen stays, she feels safe and at home in this little and cosy town, but the longer she stays, things start happening. Character's breaking up, character's that aren't together that should be together and buildings that refuse to be fixed - and falling for Anders.'
I very much enjoyed reading this book. The characters are all different but get along so well and it was nice seeing how they interact with each other, the romance between Eileen and Anders was wonderful to read and see develop, and that twist at the end was not what I was expecting!
I got a proof of this book not knowing what it was about, but it had tropes that I liked in it so I figured, why not read it? And when I found out it was about the main character going to a town that doesn't exist, except from her favourite book series, I was hooked.
'After having her heartbroken before her wedding, Eileen Merriweather decides to do a little book retreat in a cabin where her book club normally meets, but this time it's only her, and she's looking forward to some time alone with books and a glass of wine - until her car breaks down. Luckily she's in a town full of helpful and colourful people, but they're so familiar to Eileen, as if she has seen them before - in her favourite book series!
It's a readers dream to be in a town you've read in a series you love, but there's a character that wasn't in the books that lives there, the grumpy bookshop owner Anders - and he want's her out.
But Eileen stays, she feels safe and at home in this little and cosy town, but the longer she stays, things start happening. Character's breaking up, character's that aren't together that should be together and buildings that refuse to be fixed - and falling for Anders.'
I very much enjoyed reading this book. The characters are all different but get along so well and it was nice seeing how they interact with each other, the romance between Eileen and Anders was wonderful to read and see develop, and that twist at the end was not what I was expecting!
y3ti's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sayy3's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kateuzbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.
This was such an interesting and unique concept for a book, however the story missed the mark for me. There just wasn’t enough chemistry between Eileen and Anders, it felt like they developed feelings for one another a bit too quickly and a little out of nowhere.
This was such an interesting and unique concept for a book, however the story missed the mark for me. There just wasn’t enough chemistry between Eileen and Anders, it felt like they developed feelings for one another a bit too quickly and a little out of nowhere.
booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I am a huge Ashley Poston fan and went into this with high hopes! I love her brand of slightly fantastical contemporary romance so much, and her writing always makes me smile (and often cry 😂).
That said I think the hype worked against me here a little (it still got four stars lol). I felt I didn’t connect with the emotions as much as in the dead romantics or the seven year slip. I came out of it a little disappointed as a result, so I gave myself a couple of days before I wrote this. Now that has faded I can happily talk about why it’s still a four star book!
I love the concept so much - who wouldn’t love to find themselves in the town of one of their favourite romance books? (Definitely not one of my fantasy ones though 😂) And Elsy’s fangirling reactions to all the characters was so funny. I also really connected with a lot of Elsy’s pre trip experiences in terms of being hung up on something more than the person and feeling left behind by people.
I will say that while I liked the romance it wasn’t my favourite part, especially towards the end (liked the ending but not the right before). I do think it felt a little more surface level than I’m used to with Ash’s books. But I had a great time on the journey which I think is more the point on this one. It’s a love letter to bookish people and fandom and books and I always love that.
Definitely give it a try if you enjoyed her other adult romance, just know it’s not quite the same :)
I am a huge Ashley Poston fan and went into this with high hopes! I love her brand of slightly fantastical contemporary romance so much, and her writing always makes me smile (and often cry 😂).
That said I think the hype worked against me here a little (it still got four stars lol). I felt I didn’t connect with the emotions as much as in the dead romantics or the seven year slip. I came out of it a little disappointed as a result, so I gave myself a couple of days before I wrote this. Now that has faded I can happily talk about why it’s still a four star book!
I love the concept so much - who wouldn’t love to find themselves in the town of one of their favourite romance books? (Definitely not one of my fantasy ones though 😂) And Elsy’s fangirling reactions to all the characters was so funny. I also really connected with a lot of Elsy’s pre trip experiences in terms of being hung up on something more than the person and feeling left behind by people.
I will say that while I liked the romance it wasn’t my favourite part, especially towards the end (liked the ending but not the right before). I do think it felt a little more surface level than I’m used to with Ash’s books. But I had a great time on the journey which I think is more the point on this one. It’s a love letter to bookish people and fandom and books and I always love that.
Definitely give it a try if you enjoyed her other adult romance, just know it’s not quite the same :)
kaulhilo's review against another edition
2.0
everyone’s giving this 2 stars so i’m also giving 2 even though it’s very near 1 in my mind. rtc
mirmmaid's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0